We wanted it to be a casual and no-fuss affair, but also to have plenty of special, personal touches to make the mom-to-be feel spoiled and to reflect her excitement over impending motherhood. We also didn't want to break the bank, so we thought of which details were most important to make this seem like a first-class shower, not one done on the cheap, with all the necessary baby shower supplies.

Also, we wanted things available nearby, at any local Target or Babies R Us or party store.

Fantastic cookbooks for healthy living and entertaining- Recipes for Items on this Menu!

Baby Shower Brunch Menu

The Mom-To-Be had recently lost a lot of weight, so we wanted the menu to be healthy, diet-friendly, low-calorie and low-fat. We also wanted it to be yummy, to include something for everyone and to be a good mix of sweet and savory dishes.

It was a rainy San Francisco Sunday, and here's the brunch menu for 15 people that we served buffet style:

Baby shower decorations can set a tone for the party

Baby Shower Decorations

I think it's fun for baby shower decorations to be useful.

If you decorate with baby clothes and small accessories like teethers, colorful baby bottles, rattles and toys, your guests will get into the spirit of the event, and the mom-to-be goes home with lots of the small things that you can never have enough of, like onesies.

Onesies are my favorite easy, do-it-yourself decoration. I buy bulk packs of Carter's onesies in 0-3 month and 3-6 month sizes, and I mix up short and long-sleeve onesies. You can find these on the internet at sites like Amazon.com, Diapers.com, Walmart.com or Target.com.

It's really easy to get fabric paints and stamps at your local craft store to personalize these plain garments. They look cute strung up at the shower, and the mom-to-be will remember her special day every time she puts her new baby in one of these homemade onesies.

On the table where I serve food, I also like to scatter about teethers and rattles and other small, inexpensive baby-related gear.

Balloons always add a festive, colorful touch, and so do ribbons tied around napkins, tied around vases, tied around dining room chairs, etc. A mix of pastel colors is appropriate for a baby shower, though if you know the baby's gender, don't be afraid to go all pink or all blue.

Make sure you have flowers, but you do not need to get elaborate or expensive arrangements. Trader Joe's sells inexpensive bunches of flowers, and potted plants are another low-cost way to dress up a table.

Jordan Almonds Make A Nice Shower Favor

Baby Shower Invitations, Wording

It's easy to make custom invitations, which can look much more expensive than they are!

Look for a card with a wide decorative border and plenty of white space in the middle. Based on the specifications, you can play with fonts and margins to craft a personal invitation text on your computer, then print it out yourself or take it to somewhere like Kinko's.

If you are clever, by all means go for a rhyme.

For this shower, we kept it simple, since my sister is a straightforward person. The necessary details are: What, Who, Where, When, How to RSVP.

Here's the text we used:

Please join us for a baby shower brunch in honor of

(mother-to-be's name here)

Date and time

Location

RSVP to:

I prefer not to print registry information on an invitation, but I know that people want it. I decided to buy some small card inserts at Paper Source and write on the where my sister was registered. I attached a bow to these and included them in the envelope with the invitation.

Baby Shower Party Favors

It's always fun to leave a party with a little treat, and that is why baby shower favors are such a nice touch.

A token will suffice; it needn't be expensive.

I think Jordan Almonds in a little gift bag and tied with a pretty bow are charming and festive. Plus, they are delicious. You also can tuck the nuts into a baby sock. If it is boy baby shower, the sock can be blue; it can be a pink sock for a girl baby shower.

If you are feeling very Martha Stewart, you can order candy molds from an online candy making supply store. These come with all kinds of baby-related shapes, from prams to bottles to storks to diaper pins.

Making your own molded chocolates is actually pretty easy. You simply get the chocolate or coating (it comes in all kinds of colors, should you want to go with pink for a girl shower or blue for a boy shower or a neutral yellow or light green if you are hosting a gender neutral baby shower), melt it in a microwave, pour it into the mold and place the molds in the refrigerator to harden.

Another cute, inexpensive idea is to order a bunch of cheap baby bottles from somewhere like Diapers.com and fill them with Jelly Bellies or some other small, colorful candy. You could do the same with baby socks, and tie a bow at the top.

Comments

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Sarah Carlsley 5 years agofrom Minnesota

Games are my favorite part of the baby shower. Great hub!

Patsy 6 years ago

Wow, these are great tips. Baby showers are definitely something that you can do everything yourself or you can order everything that you need. Doesn't matter how crazy you go, as long as the mom-to-be is happy!